FISTHAMMER - Infallible

I don’t want to sound like an old cranky bastard here, but damn there are a lot of bands that just aren’t doing anything original these days. Thankfully, I was asked to write about a band that stood out to me, based on what I heard about them, before seeing or hearing anything by them.

Now I have to admit, when I was first saw Fisthammer’s web pages, I was wary of the upside-down cross, festooned artworks, and the genre classification of “blackened-melodic-death metal”. It just seemed like they would be too much. I was worried they’d try to sound too much like the Black Dahlia Murder (a band I have no shame in admitting that I love the majority of their work), Immortal (the perfect black metal band in my opinion) and Bloodbath (Another example of a perfect band) with their genre classifications. Fortunately for me, Fisthammer delivered some tracks that are certified bangers.

Fisthammers’ strengths lie in their riffs. Each track showcases a variety of neck snapping note choices. Harmonies that would make Bill and Troy from Mastodon splooge their jeans and solid arrangement which takes said riffs to another level. The vocals also stand out a bit to me as well for the use of high shrieks, and low guttural growls that on almost every track are blended nicely. If the opening on "The Coven" doesn’t make you want to fight some non-believers and sacrifice some virgins, then I don’t think you understand the power of the riff.

With the aforementioned strengths aside, my biggest issues (which might not be all that big to you) are: that some of the songs seem to be too structured. Think of the basic ABABCAB song structure; verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc. The record lacks a deviation from that. Secondly, the lack of solos (the one on "Doom of the Gods Part 2" doesn’t beat you over the head, it’s pretty tasteful and left me wanting more on the other tracks). Some of the tracks on the record I think suffer from too many repetitions of the riffs, and even a short solo would help the songs dynamic a bit. My other main concern with this record is that at times is does sound too much like other bands, and the tracks make me want to listen to them instead.

While Fisthammer draws from Amon Amarth, BDM and other melodic death metal bands, and writes some catchy riffs, and show a lot of potential. But Infallible doesn’t do enough to showcase their true ferocity I think. They certainly have it in them to develop a sound that takes a bit from their influences AND help them to stand out from their contemporaries. but this record wasn’t their break out statement.

To sum it all up; this record has some brilliant moments, but not enough for me to love it.
6.5/10. [Self released]
- P. Carparelli